Samford Clips UAB Baseball, 9-2
John Frost and Ivan De Jesus each connected for homers, but that was all the offense that UAB could muster as Samford clipped the Blazers, 9-2, on Wednesday night at Young Memorial Field.

Series NotesAll-Time Series: UAB 53, Samford 22UAB owns the upper hand in the all-time series, but the Bulldogs have won six straight meetings with the Blazers dating back to the 2009 season.

Last Meeting: Samford 9, UAB 2 at Young Memorial Field (4/25/12)

Last Win: UAB 9, Samford 2 at Joe Lee Griffin Stadium (4/1/09)

UAB and Samford were both in the Tallahassee Regional last spring hosted by Florida State. UAB earned the fourth seed the in the regional after claiming the Conference USA Tournament Championship, while the Bulldogs claimed the No. 3 slot, but the teams did not meet in the NCAA Tournament.

On The BlazersUAB went 3-1 last week, defeating Jacksonville State before taking two of three in its off week in league play vs. Savannah State. The Blazers have won four of their last five, and six of the last eight games.

As a team, the Blazers hit .336 last week, to up the team overall batting average to .263. For the season, the Blazers are averaging 4.03 runs off 8.52 hits per game.

Equally as impressive as the UAB bats were the Blazer arms, owning a team ERA of 2.38 for the week. UAB relievers combined to allow just one earned run over 11.2 innings of work for a 0.77 ERA. On the year, UAB has a 4.16 team ERA with 204 strikeouts and 108 walks in 272.2 innings.

Cameron Rose gets the start for UAB, owning a record of 0-1 with a 2.95 ERA. In 10 outings, nine in relief, Rose has worked 21.1 innings, giving up 14 hits, 11 runs (seven earned) with seven walks and nine strikeouts. Opponents are hitting only .189 against Rose this season.

The UAB defense stepped up this week, committing only one error in 155 total chances for a .994 fielding percentage.

One-Two PunchThe team is led by the one-two punch at the plate from John Frost and Ryan Prinzing. Frost tops all of Conference USA with a .384 batting average, along with seven doubles, two triples, one homer and 21 RBI. Prinzing's .333 hitting clip is tied for fifth in the conference, while he has scored a team-best 21 runs, hit two homers and driven in 12.

Frost also ranks first in C-USA in on-base percentage (.458), third in slugging percentage (.509), tied for third in hits (43) and seventh in RBI (21). Prinzing sits second in the league in on-base percentage (.446), sixth in slugging percentage (.455) and tied for second in hit by pitches (nine).

In addition, this past weekend, Frost moved into seventh place all-time at UAB for career hits and currently has 225 as a Blazer.

Davis, De Jesus Heating UpChase Davis (.320) and Ivan De Jesus (.304) join Frost and Prinzing hitting over .300 for the season. The duo has really heated up recently, as Davis hit .643 last week, going 9-for-14 with three multi-hit showings, including a career-best four-hit game in the series finale victory over Savannah State. De Jesus owns a .395 (15-for-38) average over the last 10 games, scoring 11 runs with six RBI.

Naile'ing Down VictoriesRHP James Naile recorded two wins for the week, claiming a victory as both a starter and reliever. The righty picked up a win vs. Jacksonville State on Wednesday, before earning the victory as a starter on Sunday vs. Savannah State. For the week, Naile posted a 0.90 ERA, allowing just one run (earned) in 10 innings on the bump with eight strikeouts and no walks.

Holding Down The LeadThe Blazers have been able to hold onto leads when they have them this season. When leading after seven innings, the Blazers are a perfect 13-0. In fact, UAB is 27-2 over the past two seasons when holding a lead in the seventh frame.

On The BulldogsSamford enters Tuesday's tilt with a record of 18-14 after sweeping a three-game home series against Southern Conference foe Wofford.

The Bulldogs showcase a potent offense, hitting .292 collectively, 7.2 runs off 10.1 hits per game. In total, Samford has clubbed 30 homers and has a team slugging percentage of .433.

Philip Ervin has the top batting average for Samford, hitting .374 with eight homers, 21 RBI and is 10-for-11 on stolen base attempts. The center fielder has also walked 23 times and scored 27 runs.

C.K. Irby is another offensive weapon for the Bulldogs, hitting .350 with 17 extra-base hits, including five homers, along with 32 RBI.

On the mound, Eric Wright will get the start, owning a record of 2-1 and a 5.41 ERA. The southpaw has made eight total appearances, six starts, totaling 35 innings. He has surrendered 20 earned runs on 43 hits with 16 strikeouts and six walks. Opponents are hitting .301 against the lefty.